Rick Rubin Said He Has “No Technical Ability,” but Did You Know He Played Guitar on This Beastie Boys Track?

Rick Rubin is arguably the most famous music producer of all time. He has helped create hit songs for the likes of Jay Z, Johnny Cash, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Adele. While his catalog of collaborations is decorated and impressive, what sets him apart from most producers is his methods. Particularly, Rubin has publicly acknowledged that he has little to no technical music ability. In other words, he can’t work a sound board, nor can he play an instrument.

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Rubin divulged this fact in an interview with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes. In the interview, Rubin revealed the fact by stating, “I have no technical ability, and I know nothing about music.” “I know what I like and what I don’t like, and I’m decisive about what I like and what I don’t like,” Rubin added in his defense as a virtuoso music producer.

While Rubin was mainly honest in his statements, there is one instance that contradicts his claim. And that instance is when the Beastie Boys and Rubin created the 1986 classic, “No Sleep Till Brooklyn.” Which resides on their debut album, Licensed to Ill, produced by Rick Rubin.

He Plays Guitar, but Rick Rubin Says His Skills are “Rudimentary” at Best

In an interview with Rick Beato, Rick Rubin revealed that he does, in fact, know a little guitar. Not a lot, but just enough to create the infamous heavy metal intro to the Beastie Boys’ career-launching single. In the interview, Beato states, “That’s you playing guitar on that.” Rubin replies, “It’s pretty rudimentary,” and “It was more like a vehicle for the vocals.”

If you are familiar with Rick Rubin and his history, then you know the magnitude this news holds. For years and years, the masses believed that Rubin was simply a musical and spiritual guru who could bring the best out of the musicians he was working with. That is still certainly true, but Rubin can also lay down some material of his own, and it shows in the opening guitar riff on “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”.

It is unclear what other tracks Rick Rubin has played on, and given his humility, there is a good chance we may never know. Nevertheless, Rubin, being the cryptically charismatic figure he is, proves once again that he always has an ace in the hole, and he seemingly never brings it out until it is needed the most.

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